Former President Jimmy Carter said an MIR following the removal of a cancerous tumor from his liver found four spots of melanoma on his brain. Carter said he will receive radiation treatment at Emory every three weeks for a total of four treatments.

When Carter learned of his diagnosis, he said he was surprised at his own calm.

“I have had a wonderful life; I have had thousands of friends,” Carter said, “I have had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence so I was surprisingly at ease.”

Carter said he has already received hundreds of letters and messages from supporters i

ncluding Obama, Hillary Clinton, and George Bush.

AP U.S. History teacher Lee Pope said the huge number of well-wishers is expected.

“I do not think his enemies can say anything bad about him as a human being and there is a genuine concern for him,” Pope said. “No one wishes him ill, he is a liked man.”

Carter said his treatment schedule will force him to lighten his workload but that he had long planned to do so anyway.

“I am going to cut back fairly dramatically on my obligations at Emory and the Carter Center,” Carter said at the press conference Thursday.

Carter said he is confident that regardless what happens to him, the Carter Center will stay true to its mission.

“We will concentrate on peace democracy freedom and the alleviation of suffering,” Carter said.

During the press conference, Carter also reflected on his life and legacy. Carter said that he has found his work with the Carter Center more gratifying than the work he did as President.

“The Carter Center deals with individual people in the smallest and most obscure suffering villages in the desert and jungles of Africa,” Carter said. “We have had programs in 80 different countries on Earth for the poorest and most destitute people in the world. That has been far more gratifying.”

Pope said Carter managed a particularly difficult presidential term “decently” and was able to leverage his fame into the incredibly impactful Carter Center.

Carter said he is optimistic about the outcome of his treatment.

“I’d like the last guinea worm to die before I do,” Carter said.